Mar 22, 2011

In early March, 2011 several auctions for Kecoughtan patches appeared on eBay for items that typically sell for far more than the seller was offering at "Buy it now" prices. A close examination of the pictures accompanying the auctions led me to believe that the items were not authentic, but I withheld judgement until I had a chance to compare actual samples with versions that I know to be authentic.

The patches in question are the silver A6 arrowhead patch issued in 1976 for the Lodge's 25th Anniversary, and the round R5 issue that features an acorn on a black background with an arrow extending on both sides beyond the circular border. This patch, designed for use on a baseball type hat, was originally issued in 1993.

These patches are not easily discerned as reproductions. The seller, in fact, describes them in his eBay auctions as "A PERFECT CONDITION OA KECOUGHTAN LODGE 463 PATCH." The silver arrowhead, in particular, is very close to the original, and from the front could easily be mistaken for an authentic A6 if you didn't have a known real issue to compare it with. The fake round patch has a noticeable curve to the bottom tip of the acorn that is not present on the original. The easiest way to tell them from real versions is to examine the backs - the fakes have a smooth white fabric reverse material while the originals have very evident rough grid patterns. See the pictures at kecoughtan.com for more details.

When I contacted the seller with my findings he offered to refund my money and told me he purchased the patches at a Chicago collectibles show in March of 2010 from a booth selling many types of patches. The eBay seller says he is not familiar with Scout patches and says he was convinced by the booth seller they were authentic.

Don't be fooled by these recent fakes whose only worth is as a curiosity. The real versions of the 463 A6 arrowheads are generally valued between $50-$75 and the real R5 typically goes for between $20-$35. The seller is offering "Buy it now" prices of $14.99 for each of these fakes as well as auctioning some. There is no telling how many of these were actually produced.